Two new milestones await Messi in the Argentina team
On March 23, Argentina will play against Panama. Five days later, in another friendly at home, they took on Curacao.
Messi holds the record of scoring 98 goals for the team. If he scores at least two more goals this time around, the 35-year-old striker will become the first Argentina player to reach the triple-digit mark. If he only scores one goal, Messi will increase the achievement for all teams to 800 goals. Besides 98 goals for Argentina, he has scored 672 goals for Barca and 29 goals for current club PSG.
In the list of goals for the team, Messi is still far ahead of the following players. Former striker Gabriel Batistuta ranked second with 56 goals, just ahead of Sergio Aguero (41 goals), Hernan Crespo (35 goals) and Diego Maradona (34 goals). The player who plays for the team closest to Messi is Angel Di Maria, who is seventh with 28 goals.
According to the World Federation of Football History and Statistics, as of March 18, Cristiano Ronaldo is leading with 828 goals, while Messi is second with 799 goals. The late legendary Pele ranked third with 762 goals and Romario, FIFA's best player in 1994, ranked fourth with 755 goals. The player who plays closest to Messi is Robert Lewandowski, who ranks 11th with 591 goals.
Friendly against Panama and Curacao are Argentina's first matches after winning the 2022 World Cup. Coach Lionel Scaloni sees this as an opportunity to thank fans, connect players and define new goals.
Argentina will play a qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup from September 2023 to September 2025. The final round will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026 in the US, Mexico and Canada. In 2024, Argentina will participate in the Copa America in the US. Argentina is the defending champion of both these tournaments.
Messi scored seven goals in the 2022 World Cup. His total record after five World Cups is 13, putting him in fourth place with Just Fontaine, in the list of players with the most goals in tournament history. Messi holds the record of playing 26 World Cup matches.
